Happy Wednesday! I really don’t want to think about it being Wednesday because I’m on vacation and that means my vacation is halfway over. Bummer! But, that doesn’t stop the blogger. So… with that said, let’s get to it. Today, I want to introduce you to Bond, Austin Bond… that is. haha. Oh, that was so fun to say… such as James Bond – 007. Okay, anyway, time for diver interview with Austin Bond.
Category Archives: Diver Interviews
Extreme Diver Interview – Jennifer Marsh
“That gives you opportunities for more things with more people…” I love that quote. Who said that? The diver I’m going to introduce you to today. Jennifer Marsh happens to be a “newer” diver. I say newer because she’s been certified for just a year. So I think you could agree, that’s newer, right? But that “gives you opportunities for more things…” The thing about SCUBA Diving is you meet a lot of different people with a lot of different backgrounds and we all just “fit” together as one big happy family. It’s the coolest thing! So without further ado, let me introduce you to Jennifer. Let’s all encourage her to dive with us more! She’s a lot of fun!!
Extreme Diver Interview – Sherri Bruce
Let’s keep it in the family today! Today, we’re going to have another diver interview, but this time it will be an adult versus a junior diver. And by keeping it in the family, I mean, let’s meet Logan Bruce‘s mom Sherri Bruce.
Now some fun things here is I’ve apparently known Sherri for years because I used to work with her at my old job. She was even good friends with one of my friends. But earlier this year when we had a Try it for the Boy Scouts I kept looking at her thinking, gosh I know her and at first, having a difficult time placing a name with a face. Then all the sudden it hit me like a freight train as to who she was. Now please, tell me I’m not the only one who has those moments…
It’s always fun when you can make these connections and have these friends in multiple different settings. So without further ado, let’s meet Sherri Bruce!
p.s. it’s so much easier when you go to add pictures if you add the correct ones to a blog post. haha.
Why Choose Extreme Sports Scuba
We have heard for years that for a business the most important thing is location, location, location. In our case, that is not all there is to it. It is how you treat people. By word of, Facebook, and other avenues, people have heard about Extreme Sports Scuba because of our friendly, family oriented atmosphere.
On more than one occasion, people have sought out our business bypassing other SCUBA stores in the process. I can’t speak for them, but I knew this was home the minute I came through the door. I sure hope they feel that way too.
A Story of One Couple
Here is a story of a couple we worked with last fall before they went on their trip to Hawaii. All pictures of text messages and pictures have been approved for our usage in this post.
We worked with a couple for their open water dives this past October. They bypassed several shops to work with us because of his past experience with us. So maybe, location isn’t always a total factor when deciding who to get certified through.
Because of everyone’s schedule, they did their open water at Beaver Lake during the Pumpkin Carving Weekend. That particular weekend happened to be a very cool weekend, but they survived and were certified divers by the end of the weekend. We were not only able to finish their open water but by the end of the weekend, we were also friends. We all can use more friends and good dive buddies, so it was a win-win situation as far as I was concerned.
Fulfilling the Dream
Hi, I am Tiffiny Bond and my husband is Trevor. We are the parents of 3 wonderful boys, Austin, Gage, and Sterling.
It has always been a dream of mine to SCUBA dive. In high school, (um back in the late 80’s), I wanted to become a marine biologist. The thing is I couldn’t bring myself to learn to SCUBA in Kansas murky lakes and I was too scared to move to Florida or somewhere near the ocean. So this dream sat dormant for a very long time.
The Trip
Now, Trevor and I never took a honeymoon. Not even a weekend away. So after 24 years, he surprised me with a trip to Jamaica. He booked us at an all-inclusive resort, including diving. My heart went all a flutter and my head went swimming in the big blue. I was going to finally SCUBA dive.
Extreme Diver Interview – Ryan Paul
I told you a few weeks ago it was coming… And now, it is here. Time for diver interviews once again! Our first victim, Diver to Interview is Ryan Paul. The questions are the same as you’ve seen previously, except we added one question… What is your favorite dive gear and why? Why would we ask that? Well obviously because we’re going through dive gear here lately. If only I would have had the forethought how many years ago… So without further ado, Ryan.
Ryan Paul
How did you get started diving?
I had always wanted to try it but never realized that diving in Missouri (Away from the ocean in general) was very popular. Then a friend told me about Extreme Sports and I’ve been hooked since.
Extreme Interview: Glen Faith, Owner of Mermet Springs in Metropolis, IL
Boy do I ever have the interview for you today… Have you met Glen Faith? Do you even know who that is? Well, if you’ve been to Mermet Springs, surely more than once you’ve seen him as he is the mastermind evil genius… I mean the owner of Mermet Springs in Metropolis, Illinois.
Last September when we took our annual trip to Metropolis, Illinois to dive the quarry, I got the opportunity to catch up with Glen, set him down, and interview him.
The first question I asked was… Glen, how did you get started diving?
I started my diving career on my secretary of state police dive team. We did a lot of vehicle insurance investigations and stuff like that. So for almost 24 years that’s what I did. I dove for guns, cars, bodies, etc. Everyone knows what dive teams do.
I started diving in 1988. I have just a little over 3,000 dives. But one of my biggest achievements is I’m an instructor trainer. I eat, breathe, and sleep scuba.
Here at Mermet Springs Sunday’s are slower. Saturdays average 100-120 people, but as the weather starts to cool it will slow down.
Now, the latest news at Mermet Springs: We brought in wifi. We brought in a fiber optic network. We’ll be able to provide all the dive shops and divers
Elogs (training records/digital)
The quarry is located between 2 cornfields which doesn’t provide much opportunity for any kind of internet, but we finally were able to get the fiber optic network in so that all of our people can come dive, but stay up-to-date on the world around them.
We have professionals of all sorts that come out here to dive. This opportunity allows them to stay connected with work and families. Depending on your phone network you can even call home. The best story is we’ve had a lady out here who was a real estate agent who was able to do a dive, do a virtual home tour, and then continue to dive.
2015 // An Extreme Diver Interview Year in Review
Can you believe that it is the last day of the year, TODAY!?!? Late last year we decided to interview divers who dive with Extreme Sports Scuba. The goal was 52 diver interviews for the year, one per week. There were weeks I wasn’t sure we were going to accomplish this goal, but guess what… We did! I thought I’d compile a list of all the 52 interviews here in one place in case you missed one throughout the year. I hope you enjoyed these as much as we did. Happy New Year! Have a safe and fun New Year and hopefully see you tomorrow for the New Year’s Day dive!
Week 1 – Justin Walkinshaw
Week 2 – Kim Brungard
Week 3 – Adam Deras
Week 4 – Amy La Due
Week 5 – Dan Hayworth
Week 6 – Tiffany Hayworth
Week 7 – Steve Todd
Week 8 – Brittany Renfro
Week 9 – Lee Lake
Week 10 – Nelda Patrick
Diver Support System – Priscilla Sweet
I’m throwing this out there…. I’m patting myself on the back! Why you might ask? Well… this is the 52nd week of the year and I did 52 diver interview blog posts. SCORE! I did it. Woohoooooo! I need to thank you, each and every one of you, who helped me throughout this process! There were weeks when I was sweating bullets wondering if I’d get it done, but I did! Thank you thank you thank you! I like challenges but I like them even better when I can actually accomplish them and with your help, We did it! And I have a fun interview for you today… Meet Priscilla Sweet.
How did you get involved with our diving group?
My husband Steve Sweet started diving Continue reading
Extreme Diver Interview – Chris Parrish
So I need to put a disclosure with this post… I interviewed Chris back in February when we first decided to try doing these diver interviews. I point this out for 2 reasons… Chris wanted to be the last one interviewed, well next week is the last week and I have a special surprise up my sleeve (hopefully) for that post. And secondly… I asked where his favorite place to dive was and he said he’d never dove salt water, which is inaccurate now… he, Cam and Anissa went to Cozumel this last summer. So keep those things in mind. And now it is time to reveal Chris Parrish’s interview.
How did you get started diving?
I wanted to noodle catfish but I wanted to do it the safe way. After I learned to scuba dive and got my certification in Beaver Lake I never went back to Grand Lake. Continue reading